Legion funds D.A.R.E. program

Ladysmith’s Royal Canadian Legion has donated $250 to support the RCMP’s new D.A.R.E. keepin’ it REAL (KiR) Program, which will be delivered to 100 local Grade 5 students this year.

Staff Sergeant Anthony Choy, the RCMP provincial coordinator of the Drug and Organized Crime Awareness Service (DOCAS), which oversees the Ladysmith D.A.R.E. program, said that over 100 police officers teach D.A.R.E. to thousands of school children throughout British Columbia.

“The new D.A.R.E. KiR Program encourages youth to be exemplary citizens and to help others in need. The Program also covers topics such as peer pressure, stress, communications, bullying, and the Decision Making Model,” Choy said.

DOCAS works closely with D.A.R.E. BC Society, a registered charitable organization which raises funds within each community to cover the cost of the student learning materials.

D.A.R.E. BC Society President Colin Grant emphasized that, “Community donations ensure our children will be equipped with the critical thinking and life skills necessary to choose a drug-free life and fund the $12 cost of learning materials per student”.

He thanked the Royal Canadian Legion for its support, “We are very grateful for their generous donations which cover the cost of learning materials for 20 students who took the program during the 2014-2015 school year”.

D.A.R.E. BC Society Partner Relations Manager, Chantal Broughton, said next year’s D.A.R.E. program starts this September and we will need to raise $1,200 in Ladysmith to cover the cost of learning materials for 100 students who are expected to take the D.A.R.E. KiR program.

“We are appealing to the citizens of Ladysmith to make a donation to help the Ladysmith RCMP empower our school children to choose a drug-free life,” Broughton said.

To make a donation contact Partner Relations Manager, Chantal Broughton by phone at 778-290-2029 or email at dare@darebc.com. To learn more about the D.A.R.E. KiR Program visit darebc.com.